A systematic review of randomized trials of mind‐body interventions for PTSD
Niles BL, Mori DAL, Polizzi C, Pless Kaiser A, Weinstein ES, Gershkovich M, Wang C · Journal of Clinical Psychology · 2018 May 10
DOI 10.1002/jclp.22634
Objective
To systematically review outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating mind–body treatments for PTSD.
Conclusions
The review of 22 RCTs indicated that mindfulness, yoga, and relaxation therapies showed significant between-group effects with moderate to large effect sizes favoring these treatments for PTSD outcomes. Mindfulness and yoga studies consistently demonstrated effectiveness, while relaxation studies, although showing significant benefits compared to controls, also exhibited substantial improvements within the relaxation groups themselves. The study highlights methodological weaknesses in some trials but acknowledges increasing rigor in recent research. Recommendations are provided for enhancing the design of future mind–body trials.
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